Category: Food

A Wild Night – 14 June 2016

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14 June

 

Last night was a wild one and no mistake.  50mph winds and heavy seas.  We’re down in the bowels of the ship and therefore we feel it the most.  Last year we had the room below the kitchen and this year we have an even noisier room.  Worse still, the weather is to be equally bad tonight.  Oh what fun.

We were up and out early this morning and waiting in line for our ticket to freedom.  Ville Franche is a small town and the dock area is nowhere near big enough to take a ship the size of ours, so we are ferried off with a tender.  To achieve a semblance of order, you have to queue for a number.  Once you have this you have to wait in one of the restaurants or bars for a tender to become available.  Since there are around 2000 people on board and a tender takes less than 100, it can take a while.  The tenders themselves have to obey the local speed limit of 5 knots in the open water of the bay and 3 knots nearer shore.  This means the transfer takes even longer than it needs to take.  French rules apparently.  Also, because the tenders are constantly travelling there and back, they occasionally need refuelling.  It was going to be a long morning.  Actually, the girl who was giving out the tickets estimated an hour and she wasn’t far wrong.  One of the blessings of tender departure is that there are no bloody motorized wheelchairs or scooters.  These things are not only a menace, they are a downright danger in the close confines of a ship.  I understand the need for wheelchairs, but the amount of them, and the bloody bleeping scooters on this ship drives me to distraction.  I was standing in a bar tonight and some idiot decided to park their son’s scooter right behind me then proceeded to get shirty when I wouldn’t let him drive over me.  Apparently I should have had eyes in the back of my head!

Once we got our tender across to Ville Franche, we were on one of Scamp’s route marches to the station to get the train to Monte Carlo.  Train took 15 minutes to travel the 9 or so miles  to the millionaire’s playground.  Once we got off, we followed the crowd up the stairs, up the escalators, up in the lift and out at St Devote corner, famous to F1 fans.  We walked down the street, down steps, down in a lift and on to the harbour where we had a pizza each, shared a carafe of wine, and with free WiFi got two blogs posted.  Then we headed back, thinking that we’d need to climb up the near vertical streets to get back to the station.  Then we met an Indian family who had been on the train in.  They had found a much easier alternative route.  This took us from street level along a gentle incline on a travellator directly into the station.  Superb.  No climbing necessary.

Back in Ville Franche, we wandered round a market, I took some photos and we headed back to the ship.  After an hour or so of sunbathing it was time to get ready for dinner.  We sat with a cheery Yorkshire contingent who were on their first cruise, and they kept us amused throughout dinner.

Afterwards, we went to see the Piano Brothers second performance of the week and then had coffee in the buffet on 15 before turning in.  It’s getting a bit noisy now with crashy waves, so I’m off to get a few hours shut eye because I didn’t sleep much last night.

Tomorrow is Livorno, an old friend.  We both like Livorno with its canals and markets like The Barras.

This blog upload courtesy of Grand Bar in Livorno.

Land of the Custard Tarts. – 11 June 2016

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11 June3

My Uncle Bob, when he was returning to Larkhall would say “Back to the land of Sugartops.”  For those not born in Larky, a sugartop was a Saturday morning staple.  It was a bit like a flattened roll with sugar syrup on top.  The syrup acted like an adhesive to hold the lump sugar on top.  You spread butter on the flat bottom of the sugartop (unsalted butter was best) and ate it for breakfast on a Saturday.  As far as I know, they were only made in Larky and then only by one bakers, Eadie’s which closed a long time ago and took with it the sugartop.  If Larky was the land of the sugartops, Lisbon must be the land of the Portuguese Custard Tarts.  I know you can get them in Costa’s in the UK and I’ve seen recipes for them in books, but nothing comes close to the Lisbon Custard Tart.  With that in mind, our first stop once we alighted from the bus was the tart shop.  Scamp remembered how to get there and flew as straight as an arrow to the cafe.  Two custard tarts, one sprinkled with cinnamon (for me).  One sprinkled with icing sugar (for Scamp).  Two coffees, one white, one black.  Cost?  €4.50!  A bargain in anyone’s book.  You eat the tart and drink the coffee standing at a shelf in the cafe.  There are no seats.  It’s a eat an go thing.  Maybe Eadie’s in Larky should have adopted that strategy with sugartops.

After our second breakfast we wandered round the squares of Lisbon.  By the way, when we were at the breakfast table in the restaurant this morning, it caused great hilarity when I said we were off to find some tarts in Lisbon.  I can’t see why.  We walked up and up and up the hill to see the view from the top.  On the way I listened to a girl singing and playing a spanish guitar.  A dangerous thing to play in Portugal I’d have thought.  The don’t have much truck with their bigger neighbour.  A bit like Scotland and England, so I can understand their mindset.  Anyway, I listened to this girl playing and singing and I quite liked what I’d heard, so I bought her CD for €5. Then it was time to start on the upward trek again.  The view from the top when we reached it was great.  I remember it from the last time.  The easy way to get up to the viewpoint is to take the funicular tram.  We chose to use this tram to get us down to the level of the three central squares.  It only takes about five minutes to complete the downward journey and halfway down you meet the other tram coming up.  Very neat and orderly.  I don’t know if they use the downward tram as a counterbalance for the other one coming up to safe energy or not, but it’s a gentle way to spend five minutes on these veteran trams.

I like Lisbon, we both do, and not just because of the custard tarts either.  The city seems as if it’s stuck in a timewarp.  Some of it looks quite Victorian, some of it harks back to the ‘50s, but not a lot of central Lisbon is modern.  The train station which also houses Starbucks has a lovely Art Nouveau frontage.  Possibly the poshest Starbucks I’ve ever seen.  Just along from Posh Starbucks is a tiny wee shop that is always seriously locked up with steel shutters on the door and behind the windows.  In the window is a wide selection of wicked looking knives.  Best of all though is the advert on the side for pistols, carbines, rifles and ammunition.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they could furnish you with an AK47.  They used to also sell fake, but very convincing police ID in a variety of nationalities.  They no longer have them in the window, but that doesn’t mean they don’t sell them inside.

Back at the ship we found a small pool at the stern and settled into sunbeds there, only to find that we had left the oversize towel pegs at home.  Scamp thought I’d packed them and I thought she had.  Oh dear.  Maybe we’ll find a Lakeland at Gibraltar tomorrow and get a new set.  They’re so useful for attaching your pool towel to your sunbed.

We stayed there until we sailed away from Lisbon for this year.  Hopefully we’ll be back.  As we sailed under the combined road and train bridge on our way out of Lisbon, I thought back to 6am this morning standing on the deck in my shirt sleeves freezing in the chill wind photographing us going under it on the way in.  It’s still impressive and it gives you a sense of scale of the ship seeing the minimal clearance between the top of the mast and the underside of the rail bridge part.

Show tonight was “Blame it on the boogie”.  Least said the better.  Not so much Boogie as Boggin!

Much later arrival in Gibraltar tomorrow, 11.30am.

Blackout – 7 June 2016

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E6070097- flickr--159Today we were due to have heavy rain in the afternoon. It’s 5.30pm now and it’s still not rained – touch wood. We were also promised thunderstorms and again, touch wood we have had none. We had initially intended having lunch at Vecchia Bologna, but then Scamp suggested we just wait for a while and go to Milano instead. We waited, and then I noticed that the wifi on the laptop had switched off. I checked the modem and there lay the problem. The modem was off. Switched on the lights and they refused to light. Then I realised that someone’s house alarm was wailing away somewhere. Oops, it looks like it’s a power outage. So it didn’t look like we were going to Milano because all of Cumbernauld was out. Also, it was too late to go to Vecchia Bologna now. What I did was try to complete today’s Sudoku (failed!) and Scamp soaked up what might be the last of our June sun. I was amazed at the total quiet (once the house alarm had switched off) with no electrical appliances. You get so used to the hum of the fridge, the freezer, even the TIVO box. Such a lovely quiet. After about an hour, the freezer chugged into life and immediately switched off again. So, they were at the problem and working on it. Less than 30 minutes later the power was restored and the peace was broken by the combined hum and rattle of the various electrical appliances starting up again. The distant house alarm added its wail to the cacophony. Too late now to go to Milano. Oh well.

Took a walk over to St Mo’s to get a PoD and saw Mr Grey gasping rather than basking in the sun. Not a lot of sun by then, it was getting a bit cloudier and felt a bit close too. Uncomfortable. I actually felt sorry for Mr G. Saw more dragonflies, but they were busy flying around and attempting to make more dragonflies for next year and too quick for me.

Didn’t get to Milano. Didn’t get to Vecchia Bologna. Just about to tuck in to Charlie Bigham’s Fish Pie..That will do nicely.

The Gas Man Cometh – 3 June 2016

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DSC_5892- flickr--155The Gas Man came to fix the (Not So) Smart Meter that would not only mean no meter reading for us and no estimated bills either.  The actual meters had been installed about a month ago by another Gas Man, but he couldn’t get the electricity and gas meters to talk to one another.  This GM, after a couple of hours work and frustrated phone calls, got them to talk to one another, but they resolutely wouldn’t talk to the server.  It wasn’t his fault.  As usual with these things, it was the server that was down, so he apologised and arranged yet another appointment to (hopefully) complete the installation.  We have volunteered to have these gizmos installed and it’s causing all these problems.  How many more problems will rear their heads when the whole country has them fitted as the Gas and Electricity companies seem determined to do.

Once the Gas Man had gone, we went out for a run.  Scamp wanted to go for coffee to her usual place at Robroyston and maybe drop in to Staples to get a memory upgrade for the Windows 10 tablet.  Instead, I took her to the Tea House on the Loch in Gartcosh.  Tea and Cream Scones on the veranda with a sunny view over Johnston Loch.  Hopefully we’ll be back, but not until the dandelion parachutes or the willowherb fluff that was blowing in the breeze have gone.

Spotted Mr Grey waking from an afternoon roost in the trees surrounding St Mo’s pond later and got a few decent grab shots with the Nikon and the Tamron lens.

New lens on order from MPB (yes, another one!)  Should arrive tomorrow.  Looking forward to using it.  Don’t know where we’re going tomorrow.  It depends on the weather (light rain forecast!!) and when the lens arrives.

Keep taking the tablets – 30 May 2016

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30 MayWe went in to Glasgow with the stated intention of getting a tablet/laptop.  Apparently what I was looking for was a “2 in 1”, which I suppose describes it quite well.

Note to JIC.  
Please feel free to ignore this part as it’s almost all technospeak.
First stop was Staples where I saw the cheapo looking Linx 10.1″ tablet with a clamshell keyboard/lid.  Cheapo maybe, but it had 2 x USB3 ports and 1 x micro USB for power and doubling as a port if you have an OTG (On The Go) cable.  Even better, it was at a bargain price of £149.99.  Ok, one possible.
Ok, JIC, Technospeak over.

Next stop was John Lewis who on paper had a load of these 2 in 1s.  Unfortunately, if we ignore the very expensive Mickysoft offerings, there were only two.  One was an Acer with no price on it and no power in the battery, the other was an HP at £80 more than the cheapo Linx.  The spec appeared to be almost the same, in fact it only had 1 x USB port and 1 x micro USB.  So it looks like it’s back to Staples.

Before that, Scamp decided that lunch at Patisserie Valerie was in order.  Since she prefers to eat inside, we got a table no bother because everyone wanted to sit outside in the sun.  Had our order taken: Crayfish Salad for both of us and Apple Pie for after for Scamp, Pecan Pie for me.  Tea for both.
The tea arrived, and so did the manager to apologise, but there was no Pecan Pie.  No problem, I’d just have the Apple Pie.  A little later he arrived back to say that sorry, there was no Crayfish Salad.  He did offer alternatives.  Scamp went for Chicken Caesar and I chose Chicken Brochette.  We’d been sitting for 20 minutes by this time.  Half an hour later and still nothing had arrived although the manager had floated past about 15 minutes before to say that my chicken was just going on the grill.  I’d had enough.  We offered to pay for the two teas, but the girl on the till would have nothing of it and told us the manager “should have been dealing with it.”  If I’d had to speak to the manager himself, Begbie would have come out of the box again.

Back at Staples, I bought the Linx.  Unfortunately, when I got it home, I found that it looked nothing like what I’d seen in the shop.  Quick phone call and was told to bring it back and they’d exchange it for the correct one.  I did, they did and this time I checked it before I left the shop.  So far, it’s doing everything I expected it to do.  Pity the same can’t be said for Patisserie Valerie.

More sun promised for tomorrow.  Bring it on!

Sitting in the Sun and Begbie Returns – 29 May 2016

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29 MaySunshine again!  Today we went to Loch Lubnaig, just north of the ‘Geriatrics’ Sunday Favourite’ Callander.  We were late leaving and I just knew we were going to run into queues along the route.  First bottle neck would be Dobbies garden centre just outside Stirling – It wasn’t too bad for a change.  Next on the list would be Blair Drummond Safari Park.  It was just as bad as I expected.  All these families eager to see the wild animals.  The queue was quite long, but as I drove past I glanced right and that was where the queueing really started and went on as far as the eye could see.  Maybe it’s the passengers in the cars that would be wilder than the animals by the time they got parked.  I wished them luck.  Strangely, the rest of the journey was uneventful, even Chronic Callander and we got parked at the new lochside parking at Lubnaig without any trouble.  An hour later, things were a bit more frantic in the carpark with cars abandoned everywhere.  People just seemed to park wherever there was a space long enough and wide enough for their car, with no thought of how other drivers were going to negotiate their exit.  They were in their space and that’s all that mattered.  Dobbers!

Lunch was a roll ‘n’ sausage for me and a roll ‘n’ egg for Scamp.  That was the last of the rolls and the last of the eggs.  We got ours and that’s all that mattered!  Loads of people there.  Must have been well over 100.  That’s what happens when you build a carpark at a scenic spot, provide facilities and catering.  If you build it right, people will come.  Think on this NLC.  After a couple of hours sitting in the sun, we decided to head home.  Scamp to do some gardening, me to cycle.  However, a pair of numpties were parked right behind us and didn’t look like moving.  No problem.  I put on my Begbie voice and they shifted sharpish.  Maybe it’s because I’ve just finished ‘The Blade Artist’ which is the story of how Begbie, the psycho from Trainspotting’s life has panned out.  Anyway, homeward through the legions of Grey Hairs out for ice cream and chips in Callander.

Got a few photos of a little red damselfly while out on my bike and Scamp got her pansies planted.

Swallows are flying lower today which means the weather may not be as good tomorrow.

Sunny Saturday – 21 May 2016

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21May bSo today is Saturday it’s a bit cloudy today with the threat of rain later.  We went into Baldock with Jamie to the butchers, where else? Got the usual suspects, viz:

  • A couple of dinosaur bones (AKA short ribs)
  • Four sausages
  • Four slices of black pudding
  • Two pork and apple burgers
  • Just for something new, Chicken and Chickpea curry

JIC was buying in for a siege (his expression) and for a barbecue in the garden tomorrow.  When we went back to the house, JIC took us for a walk through the wheat fields and up to the road.  One of his walks with Vixen.  While we were walking, Sim was riding Valioso.  Having a dog is quite tying we always feel, but having a horse must be so much more restricting.

After lunch we went to meet Vixen.  She was much more friendly than I had anticipated and her agility is something to be admired.  Who would have thought that a solid looking dog could jump so high.  We walked her round a dog walking field with JIC throwing tennis balls for her and Sim getting them back from her.  An hour passed really too quickly.  When it was time to leave, I felt really sorry for her.  It was almost like we were abandoning this beautifully coloured bundle of energy – Vixen that is 😉 .  Looking forward to seeing how she accepts us when we are in HER house, not kennels.  No matter how luxurious they are, they are still kennels.

For dinner, JIC drove us to a Thai restaurant in a gastro-pub called the Navigator.  Food was absolutely brilliant.  JIC and I had Duck Green Curry with sticky rice.  Hot, but not unbearably so.  Scamp had Sweet and Sour Chicken and Sim had the biggest seabass I’ve ever seen – a whole one complete with head!  We all had a sort of combo starter to share.  Quite the best meal I’ve had for a long time.  Sorry, Jimmy Spice’s, this was better.

London – 19 May 2016

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London bTook the train in to London and wandered round the Southbank as usual. Had lunch from the Indian and Mexican stalls we usually go to. After that we walked down the river, or was it up? Can’t remember.

We went for a coffee in a Nero in the OXO building and Scamp noticed there was a photographic exhibition in the building at the rear and it was free! I quite enjoyed looking at other people’s photos, especially Emily Allchurch’s Sic Transit Gloria Mundi and Babel, but £11,000 was a bit steep. After that we crossed the river looking for a pub to have a drink. I thought I knew the whereabouts of such a place, but after walking away from the river for a while, had to give up and go to a Wetherspoons instead. Had a nice pint of Ghost Ship and Scamp had an expensive G&T. I had a taste and it did taste that wee bit different from our usual. Walked back down the road to head back for the station, and there was the pub I was looking for. For future reference it was the Black Friar!

Dinner was at Jimmy Spice’s and the food, especially the Indian food was great.

View from the other side – 8 May 2016

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combo2Well, today was supposed to be 18ºc and I think we met that temperature and probably exceeded it, but when we woke it didn’t look that likely. It was a slow burner.

Because the weather didn’t look as good as we had hoped, we waited before deciding that it really was going to improve. I’d intended going east, possibly to Cramond or if that was too busy, Portobello. However, our late start made a more local resort more practical. Scamp thought Glasgow Green fitted the bill, and I thought ok. Not what I’d choose, because how many other families would be thinking the exact same and there isn’t a lot of parking there. To add another factor to the mix, Celtic were playing some final or other at home at Parkhead which is on the route to The Green. After driving round the diversions to avoid the green and white crowds, I saw the last parking space at The Green disappear in front of me as the grey Astra in front of me nabbed it. Just managed to park on the roadside outside the West bar. Not perfect, but we were parked and I was beilin’. Whose idea was it to drive into Glasgow? I’ve been driving all weekend! Why do I have to do all the driving? Forgetting for the minute that Scamp had suggested The Green because I wouldn’t have to drive too far and after our walk I’d still have time to go cycling afterwards. No, the Red Mist obscures everything.

After I’d calmed down a bit, I had to admit I really enjoyed walking in the sunshine. We walked onto the suspension bridge and watched some rowers sculling with training wheels on the boat. Ok, really training floats, but that doesn’t sound so good. We had watched a white cabin cruiser heading up to the moveable weir at the Albert Bridge and when we walked down past the Western Boathouse the boat crossed the line of the weir and sailed merrily upstream. I was so taken back by this sight, my camera remained in the bag. I’ll remember it though because I’ve never seen any boat bigger than a eight man rowing scull on the river. To dispel the remainder of the red mist, I got us two Mr Whippy ice creams which were brilliant!

Just for a change, we walked across the Albert Bridge which is undergoing a fairly extensive refurbishment and not before time because this has been a rusting eyesore for a long time. That’s where the Glasgow coat of arms shot came from. I thought it was a good idea to get a photo of it before the graffiti artists got to work on it. Actually there’s more to this than meets the eye. Because I was shooting through the security barrier, I couldn’t get the whole thing in with the 20mm lens I had on, so I took two shots, one of the top and one of the bottom. Later I combined them in AutoPano. It’s not just for panoramas! After that we walked along the riverside walkway on the other side of the Clyde. Scamp and I have walked around Glasgow Green in all sorts of weather for years, probably about twenty years, we think. In all that time we have never walked along the path on the far side, the other side. It’s not as pretty a walk as the one on the green, but it gives a totally different view of the riverside. I’d never realised just how pretty the Western Boathouse was.

After the walk, it was time for lunch in the wintergarden of the People’s Palace. Roll ‘n’ Sausage for me, toast for Scamp. Then we drove back passing through the droves of ‘Sellic’ supporters.

When we got home I ‘dumped’ the photos I’d taken earlier at Glasgow Green and then got ready for cycling. Grabbed my cameras in their new sling bag and hadn’t realised that I’d left one of the SD cards on the table. Found out when I tried to take the mono shot. No card. Luckily I’d grabbed both cards, so I took the shot with the ‘5 which had the 9mm lens on and the shot from it was so much better than the one I missed with the ’10 and it’s 45mm lens. Just a short cycle today with a tail wind to start with – never a good scenario, fighting a headwind on the way back when you’re knackered. Got a photo of the ladybird in a group of aspen saplings. Actually there were two ladybirds, but when they saw one another, the both ran in opposite directions. Possibly two males or two females. The shot of the sprouting ‘baby corn’ was on the road home. I thought the perspective was interesting.

More sun forecast for tomorrow. Let’s see if it appears.

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ComboToday we had to drop Scamp’s car off at the garage by 8.30am. This meant a much earlier rise than normal, but we managed it and got the car dropped off in time. Even then, almost all the parking spaces were taken, mainly because of poor parking skills by the garage’s clients. Some people are so impressed that they have reverse parked, they don’t seem to notice that they are not actually in a bay or maybe they think that white line is a target and you’re supposed to get a wheel either side of it. The parking was so bad that a couple of the mechanics were gainfully employed parking the cars neatly and so releasing a couple more spaces. Scamp parked very neatly, showing all these dobbers how it should be done. Don’t understand ‘dobbers’? No, it’s not an Australian word, much ruder than that. Google it.

Because we were out early, we had intended having breakfast out, but with the exception of Tesco and Asda, there was nowhere in Cumbersheugh where we could have breakfast. Buckfast, yes, Breakfast, no. And there was no way I was having breakfast in either of the supermarkets with school doggers (Don’t Google it!!) sitting at the next table. So we came back home for a normal breakfast.

Later in the morning the gas salesman phoned to say he was running ahead of schedule and could he come early. No problem, that left us more time in the afternoon. Yesterday we had a sales lady. Today we got a gas engineer. Someone who could answer our questions without spin or waffle. Of course there was still spin, there always will be when people are trying to sell something, but not as much as there could have been. No quote yet, but it should be posted to us tomorrow. We thought that was the end of the quotes, but I bumped into Fred P this morning and he’s going to give me the number for the guy who installed his boiler and a personal recommendation is always the best way to get a good workman. The road goes ever on.

Since we didn’t manage to get breakfast out this morning, we did lunch out instead. We went to Milano and I had a tuna pizza which wasn’t all that great. First failure for Milano. Scamp had a gigantic Chicken Burger. Absolutely enormous. She finished it!

Went for a walk to St Mo’s later in the afternoon and despite an unspoken embargo on ‘Flooers’ as a subject today, the first shots I took were flooers. But you see, they aren’t flooers, they’re blossom, so that’s ok! My photo, my rules. The wireless shutter release on the ’10 is so good for taking ground level shots. No more lying on the ground, picking up mud, twigs and the occasional sheep tick. Jut remember to charge your iPhone and remember to take it with you! That’s how the monochrome shot was taken. The green blobs are fruiting bodies of mosses. I’m not sure what species of moss it is, but it was the safest shot to take today because mosses don’t have flooers. Just fruiting bodies called ‘capsules’. There, you and I have learned something new today!

Coffee with Fred P and Val tomorrow. Three auld guys putting the world to rights.